1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inkjet recording head and an inkjet recording device.
2. Description of the Related Art
An inkjet recording head has components configured to supply ink from an ink pool chamber to each pressure chamber. The ink sent from ink tanks is injected into the ink pool chamber from a fill port.
When filling the ink, there are instances where bubbles remain in the ink pool chamber. Residual bubbles can have a negative impact on the ink discharging characteristics of an inkjet recording head.
Accordingly, there have been proposals for an inkjet head configuration where a current plate is arranged at the entrance of an ink supplying path that is communicated with the pressure chambers (see, for example, the Official Gazette of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 4-235057).
Further, there have been proposals for a configuration where current plates (i.e., protrusions) are provided at both ends of an ink pool chamber so as to reduce the area of the flow path and increase the speed of flow, making it easier to eliminate bubbles (see, for example, the Official Gazette of JP-A No. 2002-254631).
Further, a configuration has been proposed where a rib and current plate that guide ink are provided within an ink pool chamber (see, for example, the Official Gazettes of JP-A No. 2001-129988 (FIG. 4) and JP-A No. 9-262980 (FIG.1 )).
In recent years, there have been increasing trends in the speeding up of inkjet recording devices. For this reason, inkjet recording heads have been lengthened, and inkjet recording heads that can form images in wide regions in shorter time, due to increasing the number of nozzles per head and arranging them in matrix-shaped rows, are known.
An inkjet recording head configuration where nozzles are arranged in a matrix pattern has been proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-144544. A vibration plate forming one part of the pressure chambers is placed in between, and an ink pool chamber that pools ink supplied to the pressure chamber is provided at the pressure chamber and at the opposite side thereof.
Nonetheless, as shown in FIG. 17, the shape of the ink pool chamber 1000 of the inkjet recording head recited in Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-144544 is two-dimensionally wide, and there are cases where it is made into a box-shaped form, such as that shown in FIG. 18. With an ink pool chamber 1000 of this form, the flow of ink (R arrow) injected from the ink injection port 1002 becomes irregular, and the flow velocity distribution of the ink within the ink pool chamber 1000 becomes uneven. For this reason, it is easy for a stagnant portion Y where the ink flow stagnates to be generated. Bubbles accumulate in this stagnant portion Y at the time of the initial filling of the ink, and when performing a recovery operation, so it has typically taken time to eliminate bubbles from the ink pool chamber 1000.
It should be noted that the configurations recited in the above-mentioned Official Gazettes of JP-A No. 4-235057, JP-A No. 2002-254631, JP-A No. 2001-129988, and JP-A No. 9-262980 all relate to inkjet recording head ink pool chambers where the nozzles are aligned in straight lined forms. Accordingly, the size and structure of the ink pool chamber 1000, such as that shown in FIG. 17 in the configuration of Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-144544, are completely different. For this reason, the configurations recited in the Official Gazettes of JP-A No. 4-235057, JP-A No. 2002-254631, JP-A No. 2001-129988, and JP-A No. 9-262980 cannot be applied to the ink pool chamber 1000, and even if they can be applied, a sufficient effect cannot be expected.